Taiwan’s population last year grew at its slowest pace in recorded history, rising only slightly to reach 23.571 million people, the Ministry of the Interior said yesterday.
The number of people with household registrations in Taiwan rose by 31,000 from the end of 2016 to the end of last year, a 0.133 percent increase, ministry data showed.
The nation’s population growth, like that of most developed countries, has been on the decline, and the drop has been especially noticeable in recent years. Taiwan now has one of the lowest birth rates in the world.
In 1951, the annual population growth rate was 4.168 percent, but by 1984 it had dropped to 1.483 percent.
The National Development Council said Taiwan’s population is to peak at 23.741 million in 2024, after which it is to stop growing and begin to decline.
Previous studies by the council found that once Taiwan becomes a “super-aged” society by 2026, the population would fall drastically to between 17.07 million and 19.49 million by 2061.
Meanwhile, the ministry’s data showed that nearly 70 percent of Taiwanese reside in the six special municipalities.
New Taipei City remained Taiwan’s most populous city, with 3.98 million registered residents, followed by Taichung with 2.78 million and Kaohsiung with 2.77 million.
While Taoyuan ranked fifth among the six special municipalities by number of registered residents with 2.18 million, it witnessed the steepest population growth last year, with an increase of 1.857 percent.
However, Taipei, with a population of 2.68 million, registered a 0.462 percent decline in population last year.
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